My Take on the Stomping Rampage

[Lynn Terry]

I cant speak for everyone, but if you happen to be on my mailing list I use a legit email address and read all replies - and always welcome feedback. I think if you let publishers know your thoughts, and communicate that feedback with them directly, it could help make a difference.

They read these threads, and other hot topics around the web (on blogs, twitter, etc) but a personal note could go a long way.

[ThomasW]

To add to the fun: Vince Nouvel offered to reimburse purchasers for the shipping and handling if he was sent a receipt of purchase. 2 days have gone by and no reimbursement has appeared. Interesting addition to all of the above.

[davebo]

But, I am a very good marketer and know what works, so I guess I expected it.

This is a pretty funny comment..hahaha.

And Lynn Terry, about 80% of your blog posts are about stompernet and you aren't even a member. why don't you put up the money if you are so into them.

[Lynn Terry]

80% of my blog posts are not about StomperNet. And I dont pay people to comment on my blog. And I'm no longer replying to you.

Originally Posted by Matt Fulger

Marc,

While I agree with your statements, there are some offers where the upsells go beyond the point of annoying to the point where I've asked for a refund before I ever got to see the actual product. WHY? Because the onslaught of upsells was more than just distracting and/or annoying. Once I've paid for a product, I'd like it to be delivered right away. I shouldn't have to go through 15 upsells in order to get to the actual product download page.

It doesn't bother me when I simply have to scroll down and click on a "no thanks" link, but it's not always link that. Sometimes, you click the link just to get another OTO. "Wait before you continue, yada yada yada...." Offering unobtrusive upsells on the download page would be more likely get my attention than the forced OTO's before I ever get to the download page.

Now, offering ONE OTO before the download is fine. But some marketers get too carried away offering one OTO after another, making it a total pain to get to the actual download.

Once I've paid, I expect to get to download my purchase asap. I don't like having to go through another sales funnel just to get to my product. I've bought some products where I've had to sign up to several lists before I get my download info. And then get several upsells before the download page is revealed.

My Point is, some marketers take the upsells to the extreme and end up pissing their clients off rather than gaining trust, etc.

Just my 2 cents.

Peace & Prosperity,
Matt Fulger

Hey Matt,

I hear ya! And, I agree. The upsells can occasionally get a little crazy.

But, I still have to fall back on what I said before... they can be ignored.

However, in this case, Stomper's upsells were the best that I've seen... not sure that ignoring them would be the best idea.

I can't wait to go through the newsletter journal thingy. I forget what they call it.

Take care buddy

p.s. Not everyone gets pissed off by multiple upsells. And if they did, we wouldn't see the "guru's" using them so much. They have teams of people that do a lot of testing for them. If the test results were poor, they wouldn't upsell as much.

[Shaun OReilly]

Originally Posted by marcanthony

Not everyone gets pissed off by multiple upsells. And if they did, we wouldn't see the "guru's" using them so much. They have teams of people that do a lot of testing for them. If the test results were poor, they wouldn't upsell as much.

That's true Marc. Some like 'em, some hate 'em and some don't really mind
either way.

Brad and Andy are avid testers and trackers so they'll be going over the
numbers for this launch of Stomping the Search Engines 2 with a fine
tooth comb.

However, in this launch situation I don't know if they tested the effect
of the number of upsells on response: e.g. one upsell vs. different
numbers of upsells.

The way to know if they're on the right track is to see if the next launch
from the StomperNet camp includes a series of upsells like STSE2. If they
repeat a similar pattern, then you know they like what their numbers are
telling them.

Best wishes,

Shaun

[elitemarketer]

I wonder if we all fell in love with Andy and Brad due to the fact that Frank Kern was the one writing their scripts for the videos, salesletters, emails and sales process?

Just a thought!

To be honest the upsells didn't bother me that much but what did was when Andy made the remark "Sorry for this Ghetto Video"

I create video's with me at my desk all the time and I don't see how that is "Ghetto"... lol

But I do understand that it was a launch and compared to the very professional one its was nothing to brag about but saying that it was ghetto as if the video's I make that don't look like a Jeopardy show are Ghetto is what got me to lose some respect for Andy a little bit! I understand he has a Video Background but don't knock the type of videos that your customer base is creating daily!

And I don't think they planned on stalling because if they did have that planned I don't think they would have scripted something like "Sorry for this Ghetto Video"

Hey whatever though, they know their shit and I will stay a customer as long as they continue to offer the best SEO info out there since SEO is and always will be a crucial part of my businesses.

Originally Posted by Shaun OReilly

The way to know if they're on the right track is to see if the next launch from the StomperNet camp includes a series of upsells like STSE2. If they
repeat a similar pattern, then you know they like what their numbers are
telling them.

We shall see!

But I'm very confident that they are on the right track. Their following is so strong, they could a million upsells and I wouldn't be a bother.

Let's not forget that they have helped people become millionaires.

That's why I don't skip their upsells. In fact, they're are exempt from "going to far" with their upsells in my book.

Take care Shaun!

[Justin Jordan]

Originally Posted by ThomasW

To add to the fun: Vince Nouvel offered to reimburse purchasers for the shipping and handling if he was sent a receipt of purchase. 2 days have gone by and no reimbursement has appeared. Interesting addition to all of the above.

I don't know who Vince is, but two freaking days is not much time to be processing stuff, depending on his systems.

I think the speed of the net might be making us spoiled in our expectations.

[Jenn Dize]

Originally Posted by Justin Jordan

I don't know who Vince is, but two freaking days is not much time to be processing stuff, depending on his systems.

I think the speed of the net might be making us spoiled in our expectations.

Good point! And I hope that person is also aware that it was just the weekend! I don't know Vince, but give the guy some breathing room

As for the upsells...I actually went back and got them, LOL. I didn't read the sales page for them when I went through the process the first time because I generally try to make myself immune to them. But after reading through them I realized it would be silly not to get something that could massively help my business.

I hope to report great things about my ENORMOUS package (or several packages) once I get them.

There were three upsells, and I'm okay with it. (I'm normally annoyed by these things, but it obviously worked in this case with many, many people).

In case you're interested, here is an up close look at the magazine (it's not my site)

Looks way cool!

The Net Effect - StomperNet’s Print Journal : Are You a Busy Mom? Busy Moms Online is Here for You

[Justin Jordan]

"I hope to report great things about my ENORMOUS package"

Must...resist...jokes about Jenn's package.....

[Jenn Dize]

Originally Posted by Justin Jordan

"I hope to report great things about my ENORMOUS package"

Must...resist...jokes about Jenn's package.....

I thought to myself as I posted "I wonder who's going to joke about this"

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by Jenn Dize

I thought to myself as I posted "I wonder who's going to joke about this"

I can't stop laughing. Too funny.

[Lynn Terry]

StomperNet just released a big announcement: 12 unadvertised customer bonuses to everyone that took them up on their free offer.

Had a chance to see the video yet?

[Chris Lockwood]

Originally Posted by ThomasW

To add to the fun: Vince Nouvel offered to reimburse purchasers for the shipping and handling if he was sent a receipt of purchase. 2 days have gone by and no reimbursement has appeared. Interesting addition to all of the above.

Interesting that somebody is complaining after 2 days.

Did he promise to reimburse faster than that?

Have you already received and paid your credit card bill for the shipping charges from 2 days ago?

Give us a break.

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by Lynn Terry

StomperNet just released a big announcement: 12 unadvertised customer bonuses to everyone that took them up on their free offer.

Had a chance to see the video yet?

I just watched it. I'm blown away. There is a lot of stuff there for free, wow. So cool. I half expected " An our next bonus is a new BMW " dang.. they've raised the bar. I was thinking its going to make it hard for the little guys.

[Lynn Terry]

Ditto - I was very impressed. Especially that *everyone* who took them up on the free offer gets access to all 12 bonuses. Super cool...

[Dontrell Lyons]

Originally Posted by Lance K

I wrote this as part of my last reply, but I thought it may warrant it's own reply so perhaps more people would see it...

What people need to think about is that Brad and Andy are very successful and smart. They surely have their finger on the pulse. If they start to see abandonment due to the upsells that justifies a change, they'll change it.

That is exactly True! After all they are marketers and what do marketers do? They sell stuff, they tweak the ads, see what converts and what doesn't so that they make the most money for what they put in it.

Prime example if you ever listen to the radio, you hear the same ad over and over, sometimes it gets on ya nerves. But the truth is there are 1,000's of people who haven't even heard the message yet! In this case, Newbie Internet Marketers.

Everybody can say there tired of upsells but there's customers out there that need to be sold more to get educated more.

And that my friends is what you call successful marketing. hehe

Just my thoughts

[Ephrils]

I just watched their unadvertised bonuses. I'm ....speechless.

SEO is a big gap in my internet knowledge holding me back. It's a piece of knowledge that I seriously need to understand and apply to the big picture to really bring in some money. I know the basics, but not enough to get by. So, I was ONLY excited about getting Stomping The Search Engines 2, spending a week or more with it, and then start the steps to dominate the search engines. Now...

Information overload!

I'm very impressed. Webinars, software, memberships...

It's overwhelming.

[Lynn Terry]

Incredibly generous really. My advice on the 12 new free customer bonuses: pick and choose how you are going to invest your time. There's no way to absorb it ALL, so be strategic about it

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by Lynn Terry

Incredibly generous really. My advice on the 12 new free customer bonuses: pick and choose how you are going to invest your time. There's no way to absorb it ALL, so be strategic about it

Which bonus are you most excited about? I've been wanting some Jeff Johnson stuff for a while so that's mine. ALl the others are really cool too so its hard to say what will be my favorite.

[Lynn Terry]

Honestly, I'm more interested in the StomperNet products. I'm going to have to really weed through the bonuses and be picky about them (due to time investment required to consume material). That said, I havent ever studied Eben Pagan's stuff, so that's probably topping my list to check out. ALL of it looks good, so I'll be making some tough decisions I'm sure!

[Ruth Hendrickson]

I don't mind an upsell here and there. Like Mike Filsaime said in a video, it's like McDonald's asking "would you like a coke with that?" But when I buy something and then get bombarded with multiple upsells, it becomes really annoying.

How would you like to walk into McDonalds, order a burger, and then get asked, "would you like a coke with that?" "and would you like some fries?" well how about a milkshake to go along with your coke? and I'm sure you'd like to have a hot apple pie to go with it all. Don't you think that would get pretty annoying after a while?

All the upsells on some of these products is getting ridiculous. Just my opinion.

[Lynn Terry]

Actually, that happens to me at McDonalds sometimes.

Its worth repeating though, that many of the options you see with the StomperNet offer specifically were added as "bonus options" to make up for the late release. Andy addressed that in the video during the downtime.

[moseleyw1111]

I look at it and I though it was a good offer and I went on and placed an order.

[Shannon Herod]

I have never seen anything like this before. Brad and Andy have change the way the game is played!


Shannon

[Justin Jordan]

Originally Posted by Ruth Hendrickson

I don't mind an upsell here and there. Like Mike Filsaime said in a video, it's like McDonald's asking "would you like a coke with that?" But when I buy something and then get bombarded with multiple upsells, it becomes really annoying.

How would you like to walk into McDonalds, order a burger, and then get asked, "would you like a coke with that?" "and would you like some fries?" well how about a milkshake to go along with your coke? and I'm sure you'd like to have a hot apple pie to go with it all. Don't you think that would get pretty annoying after a while?

All the upsells on some of these products is getting ridiculous. Just my opinion.

On this slight tangent -

I'm not real keen on the pre upsell thing at fast food places (I think Burger King chiefly does this) where they ask you if you'd like to buy whatever before you have a chance to order.

Annoys me.

[Ephrils]

Originally Posted by Justin Jordan

On this slight tangent -

I'm not real keen on the pre upsell thing at fast food places (I think Burger King chiefly does this) where they ask you if you'd like to buy whatever before you have a chance to order.

Annoys me.

I've heard it said one of the best upsells of all time was "Would you like fries with that?"

There's still stuff to be learned from them.

[Lynn Terry]

I know what you mean, Justin - Hardee's does that too. If I even go to a fast food place, I already know what I want when I get there

[Jose Delgado]

"I hope to report great things about my ENORMOUS package"

Ohhhh Come ON Jenn!

Don't scare ME!

I liked Ya!!!!!

[Justin Jordan]

Originally Posted by Lynn Terry

I know what you mean, Justin - Hardee's does that too. If I even go to a fast food place, I already know what I want when I get there

Yeah, since I've been getting my health in order, I've been avoiding fast food, but man I hated that stuff.

On the other hand, I understand they do it to build new products and that it can't really hurt them. But still. I don't mind after product sales, generally, but when I'm buying stuff I'm buying stuff and I don't want people bugging me.

[Lynn Terry]

I'm so tempted to rent your siggy

[SeanIM]

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

Amazing how we are all in IM but are ticked off by marketing.

Amazing isn't it?

-S

[Lynn Terry]

Um okay - master procrastinator here just submitted her order to StomperNet. So I walked through the entire process myself (even though I already have both products) and I honestly dont get what all the fuss is about. I didnt feel at all "bombarded" or "offended" or any of that...

I set up my video cam and shot the whole process. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to put a video in my post here, so I wont unless you guys give me the go-ahead on that.

It truly was a painless procedure...

[Lance K]

Originally Posted by Justin Jordan

On this slight tangent -

I'm not real keen on the pre upsell thing at fast food places (I think Burger King chiefly does this) where they ask you if you'd like to buy whatever before you have a chance to order.

Annoys me.

Even if they're cutting you 50% off on antacid and 2 ply toilet paper?

[alg6565]

As someone who did sign up for the $97 upsell I had a few issues:

1) When I added the "free" trial video to the order my P&P charges increased by $15; contrast that with the P&P charged for the $97 product which was just over $6. Clearly, they are making some money on an inflated P&P charge.

2) My most serious issue was with the shopping cart. I went into the deal expecting to just pay maybe $30-40. I signed up for the magazine (to get STSE2) and the video, P&P was just over $30 to the UK. I then get all these upsells and statements to the effect that the order process has not been completed yet and that you need to customize your order etc. - the clear implication to me was that the order had not yet been finalized.

Think about it: most shopping carts allow you to add items to the cart, you then go to the checkout and complete the purchase. That is a model that most of us are used to.

That is not what happened in my case. I added the $97 video series to my order, then was offered the $247 upsell product which I declined, then I was offered the basic version of the same product for $147. I was tempted to buy this product but did not want to spend that much money on the credit card I had entered the details for. I backed up on my browser to change the card details, but ended up losing the page.

Before I had a chance to go through the process again, I saw from my email messages that my order had already been placed for both the STSE2 and the $97 product.

I do not think for one moment that the Stomper team have adopted this payment scheme by chance. They probably know damn well that many people get carried away with their purchases, adding item after item to the shopping basket, but then come to their senses when they see the combined total at the checkout stage.

I am pretty annoyed that they give an impression that you are customising your order but you are in fact not adding items to a shopping cart, which is what most of us expect, but are processing the order immediately you click on the item button.

I am sure that the information will be useful but I feel that I have been manipulated by a payment process that differs from that used by most responsible ecommerce sites


Andrew

[Steven Fullman]

Speaking as someone TOTALLY unqualified to comment...having ignored all the emails I got about this launch...I'm going to anyway

The reason this passed under my radar is simply my perception that:

Stomper = More than I can afford.

Now whether I missed out on a great 'free' product (or a great $20 product with free S+H...?) is by the by.

Upsells are OK, it's bread & butter stuff. Sounds like there were quite a few, which is great for some & will piss off others. Whatever.

Presumably the offer was stated in such a way that the buyer was under no obligation to carry on with the continuity program.

And no obligation means just that. Why get all hot under the collar when someone chooses not to pony up the monthly subscription?

If you offer it, you honour it. And you expect a percentage of folk to take advantage of it.

That's the game, right?

I'm sure Brad & Andy aren't in the least bit bothered anyway.

My takeaway is don't get mad when you sell people on a free offer & find out they don't want to spend money later.

It's not your prospect's obligation (that word again) to whip out their credit card to pay for your kid's college fund...it's your obligation to solve your prospect's problems so convincingly they'll HAPPILY buy from you.

And that's just my opinion, which may or may not be valid in the big wide world.

Steve

[Yaro]

Originally Posted by BlueSquares

I just got an email from Yaro promoting this and the link doesn't even work. And it's his 2nd email because the 1st didn't work.

Ay-yi-yi. Talk about a poor 1st impression to 'Stomping'.

Not sure why you had that problem. It might have been an AWeber click tracking link that didn't work too well (that seems to happen for a few people).

I had about 300 people order through me and several thousand clicked the link in the email, so it was definitely working.

Also if you had a chance to read the second email I sent about it, you will have seen it was one of the most honest appraisals of how to get the best out of an offer like StomperNet made with STSE2 (I gave a pretty stern warning about it).

I have never received so many email replies from that second email I sent thanking me for being so honest and non-hypey when talking about a product so many others were pushing hard.

[Chris Lockwood]

Originally Posted by Lynn Terry

Um okay - master procrastinator here just submitted her order to StomperNet. So I walked through the entire process myself (even though I already have both products) and I honestly dont get what all the fuss is about. I didnt feel at all "bombarded" or "offended" or any of that...

Me, neither. When I saw this thread before I ordered, I thought it was going to be tons of upsells, but there were only 2 or 3 pages, real quick process and easy to skip anything you didn't want.

It was also clear I could bail out anytime, since I was pretty sure my order for the initial product was in once I got past that page.

I've bought things that had way more upsells/downsells.